you can see police detectives with the chester police are still at the scene actively working this investigation. the reason why the delivery driver came here, he's familiar with this business. thought there might be help inside and he was right. from the looks of the video cops and ups trucks at murphy ford in chester today you would think they were robbed but that isn't the case. a ups driver making deliveries two days before christmas was shot just before 1:30. he came runing into murphy's ford for help. >> he came in here because he knew it was safe. we always have police around because service a lot of chester vehicles and we take care of all the par med desk. dan murphy the owner tells us the ups driver's hunch was right. there was help already inside his dealership waiting. >> he came in and turned out there was a paramedic here took him right to the hospital. >> reporter: the shooting happened in the area of tenth. a bullet came flying into his truck.

she was he was struck in the shoulder. no point if he was the intended target but we know things could have ended up much worse. the ups driver is expected to be okay. another live look out here at murphy's ford. you can see police actively looking things over. luckily the help was unside waiting. we're told the delivery driver a 13 year driver with the ups and a her they were ungirard. reporting live in chester bob brooks channel6 "action news." rick and sharrie. >> bob, thank you. now to the holiday crunch. both christmas and hanukkah are right around the corner. >> that's right. whether you're traveling to visit loved ones or rushing to the mall to grab last minute gifts get ready to encounter some big crowds. "action news" hawes covered with live reports from philadelphia international airport and the king of prussia mall. we're also keeping an eye on traffic conditions for you throughout the day but let's start with meteorologist melissa magee and the changing holiday weather forecast. melissa. >> yeah, rick and sharrie we

have some changes on the way as we head into our holiday weekend. right now not bad. pretty mild here in philadelphia coming in at 45 in the city, 44 in trenton, run in lancaster and 44 along the coast in beach haven. if you're stepping out on the town later tonight we've got you covered with the lean planner. upper 30's with a partly cloudy skies. 38 at sit clock, upper 30's at 9 o'clock tonight. the clouds increase by later tonight. 10:00 p.m. 36 and the middle 30's on the way by 11:00 p.m. here is why. storm tracker6 live double scan radar 3-d showing you the moisture out across the midwest and the great lakes with snow and some rain. that will be pushing eastward as we go into the overnight hours and into the day on saturday. so, future tracker six showing you the rain arriving along the i-95 corridor but there is a concern north and west of some brief mixing before you get that changeover to rain which is why the national weather service has issued a freezing rain advisory for berks, northern bucks, lehigh

counties up through the poconos from 1:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. on saturday because slippery travel is expected before you get that switchover to rain. so looking ahead, increasing clouds on the way tonight. it's wet for christmas eve but we're drying out just in time for santa to deliver the gifts on christmas day. all of those details coming up in the full and exclusive accuweather forecast. sharrie. >> melissa we'll see you inside. thank you. luckily our weather shouldn't have too much of an impact on travel in the delaware and lehigh valleys. either by plane, train or car, a record setting number of americans are heading to be with family and friends this holiday season. "action news" reporter john rawlins is covering the story for us on the traffic side of things from philadelphia international airport. john, how has it been so far today? >> reporter: not bad. you know, sharrie, over the years we've certainly done a lot of holiday travel stories where there have been delays and problems as far as the weather. certainly not today though. there seems to be some problems maybe brewing out in

the rockies but they're not a problem at this point in time. we've been talking to inbound passengers and they say travel has been, well, uneventful. >> new york. >> reporter: with back to back holiday weekends the forecast a record number of us will be traveling more than 50 miles, sometime between today and january 2nd. 90 plus percent by car. >> to those hitting the roads over the next 11 days, definitely want to pack their patience. there are going to be some backups. >> reporter: here at the airport, very few delays reported today. >> i was expecting it to be a lot more crowded and a lot more stressful but it was easy and relaxing. >> reporter: everything on time. >> everything was on time. >> reporter: while busy with some 80,000 passengers expected today officials say that is actually below an average day of 86,000 passengers. it seems this close to christmas while the number of leisure travelers increase, business travelers decrease. >> this hasn't been too bad

today. we expected a much busier crowd being it was a friday heading down florida but we got through pretty quickly. >> reporter: a similar trade-off expected at amtrak. lots of christmas travelers with heavy suitcases and bags of gifts but far fewer commuters and business types t this woman one of many headed to big family gathering. >> i might see star wars. >> reporter: with the some of the family. >> y it's a nerd family. try -- >> reporter: you said this. i didn't. >> try to get all the boy cousins together and go see "star wars." >> reporter: embarking on five hour train ride to johnstown will all those boy cousins are. back at the airport travelers continued to line up here at the t.s.a. screening checkpoint as the holiday travels continue at philadelphia international airport. live at phl, john rawlins channel6 "action news." rick. >> john thank you. this will be a sweet christmas for denise's bakery in north philadelphia.

some said it would never reopen after its kitchen was nearly destroyed by fire last year but popular place for delicious delicacies did recover and this will be its first christmas back in business. today faithful customers were once again waiting on line for the yummy deserts that will highlight their holiday din terse this weekend. people still searching for that perfect gift are packing local malls. and retailers are more than happy to usher them in hoping a surge in last minute shopping can help boost their bottom line. "action news" reporter gray hall is joining the crowds looking for a good deal at the king of prussia mall. hey, gray. >> reporter: hi, rick. there's certainly enough stores here to find that perfect gift. you just have to be willing to deal with the crowds and the crowds have been growing all day long. so take a look behind me. i want to give you a vantage point of what you can expect if you come to the alternate. the crowds are hit or miss depending on the times. we're told peak time will be about 5 o'clock so when you come out expect a whole lot of company.

>> merry christmas and a happy new year. >> reporter: you may need a bit of holiday clear if you're headed to the shopping malls. the clock is ticking and after today there is just one more day. >> wild and crazy, man but worth it. >> usually two days before christmas is really crazy here, like really crowded. >> reporter: thousands are flocking to the king of prussia mall to scout out that last minute gift in hopes that it will make it underneath the tree in time for christmas. >> that's the best part, opening up the presents and seeing other people's faces and make other people happy. that's what it should be about. >> reporter: and yes, even in all the holiday chaos the lines, the crowds, the frenzy, the loaded down bags of gifts some respect able to see past it all. >> it's crazy but it's also great because you see the music playing, you see people with their bags, husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, guys with bags and diamonds so you know they're getting something that's really nice so you get to see people in the spirit which is great. >> reporter: all right, so

the holiday cheer 19 all the chaos and the good news here if you're a last minute shopper you still have some time. the mall will close tonight at 11:00 the hours tomorrow 8:00 until 6 o'clock and rick and sharrie you can leave the gift on my desk. live from the king of prussia mall gray hall channel6 "action news." back to you. >> a framed picture of me right there on your desk. american re-- merry christmas gray. >> time for the traffic report on a friday. >> matt pelman in the "action news" traffic center. matt how you doing with your shopping on this friday? >> i'm doing all right. i've got about 12 of those framed pictures by now. [laughter] >> do all sorts of different things with them. put them on ebay. see what i can get. good afternoon rick and sharrie. we're outside live chopper6 hd high in the sky over i-95 right are the walt whitman bridge joins up and you can see the traffic moving slowly here on the northbound side of 95 headed up towards columbus boulevard and penn's landing.

heading southbound moving okay at this point a busy travel afternoon. maybe getting out of town to head to grandma's house or doing that last minute holiday shopping. let's hit the maps. slow speeds on the big picture but only one red zone at this point on the schuylkill expressway westbound from montgomery county out toward belmont just 10 miles per hour. we had a broken down vehicle on 95 southbound by the betsy ross bridge. that's gone but still sluggish. tacony palmyra bridge wrapping up an opening. betsy ross would be a better bet. let's go to king of prussia right by the mall, gray hall right in there hello gray and there's the container store and the chipotle. you can see it is heavy traffic in both directions but we're not just jammed solid. in the lehigh valley a crash early this afternoon at 309 northbound near a tillman where a lane is blocked. septa's cynwyd line not running again this afternoon. take the paoli/thorndale line to overbrook and then hop on

shuttle buses. let's do the commuter report one last time this week on afternoons like this the new jersey turnpike is busy and in cranbury there's an accident. reported here as northbound but it's causing bigger delays southbound. still though if you're headed northbound toward north jersey watch out for delays on the turnpike. we'll check them again, rick and sharrie, coming up in the next half hour. >> not so sweet in cranbury tonight. >> nope. >> take 6abc.com and the 6abc mobile app wherever you go this holiday weekend from storm tracker6 to the late of the traffic information we got you covered and follow our meteorologists on facebook and twitter for weather updates as well. >> a fire claims a man's life early this morning and left six families without a place to stay just days before the holidays. the flames broke out around 1:30 this morning at an apartment complex on the 400 block of east high street in pottstown. neighbors say they tried to help the victim get out of his unit. others described frantically rushing their children to safety.

>> we can't get in. and a big gulp of smoke comes rushing and we couldn't get him out. >> i grabbed them. that was it. didn't grab anything else. just grabbed the little ones just got right out of there. >> family members tell "action news" the victim is 50-year-old david jok. firefighters are still investigating the cause but they believe careless smoking may be to blame. >> and still to come on "action news" at 4:00 the berlin attacker may be dead but the terror investigation is far from over. we've got the latest details coming you next. >> plus, philadelphia police want to find a serial burglar before he strikes again. his crimes already stretch from the city out to the suburbs. >> also, a puppy brings holiday clear to hospital patients. see the adorable video of the furry volunteer when we come right back. that's a puppy? >> right? pretty big.

bless you, bishop. may the lord be in your heart and on your lips, >> the search for the suspect in the berlin christmas market attack has come to an end but the investigation is far from over. anis amri was shot and killed in milan. he pulled out a gun instead of his i.d. also today isis released this video showing amri pledging allegiance to the group. it was taken in berlin close to where that truck rammed into a crowd killing 12 people. investigators are now working to figure out when amri left germany and how he crossed into iinto it -- italy. >> it appears the men were

armed with a grenade and guns but maltese officials now say the weapons were replicas. the highjackers eventually surrendered and released all 111 passengers and the seven crew members. the men are now being questioned by police. >> all right. donald trump is revealing dee frails a letter h -- details fra letter he received. the letter says relations betwee. trump's press secretary says trump was putting the world on notice. back here two mennonites a home in kensington last night and shot a woman who was inside. police believe the suspect was trying to rob the house here on the 500 block of east allegheny avenue. they knocked on the front door, then barged inside demanding money. the victims struggled with the men and one of them shot her in the arm.

police are checking surveillance cameras in an attempt to i.d. the suspects. the victim is in stable condition. >> two women have been arres arrested in connection with the murder of a woman using a ride sharing company. both women face several charges including being an accomplice to murder and robbery. police say it was november 30th when an unknown gunman hopped into the back of the vehicle and demanded money from that 27-year-old amber dudley. dudley was shot and then died hours later at the hospital. investigators say the gunmen [inaudible] >> a serial burglar wanted for crimes in philadelphia has just been connected to recent break-ins in the suburbs. the philadelphia police department says this man has broken into 12 different businesses. his spree started in

mid-november in the city and this week it stretched to bensalem and radnor townships. each time the man uses a hammer to shatter glass doors and once inside he goes straight for the cash drawers. he has been spotted in two different cars, a blue minivan and a champagne or silver mercedes sedan. if you know anything about this man or his whereabouts you're asked to call police. >> we've got some breaking news to get to here on this friday. chopper6 hd is flying over the oxford circle section of philadelphia where police are on the scene of a shooting that was reported here. neighbors in the area reported the sound of gun shots being heard, this around 3:30 in the afternoon happening in the 1200 block of gillam street as you see police there in the area. we are told that police are saying one male was shot in the face and was taken to the hospital. no arrests have been made and police are still working to find out what led up to this. again, a shooting happening in philadelphia's oxford circle. if we get any updates we'll give them to you on air and of

course online. >> let's get a check of the accuweather forecast on this friday holiday weekend. >> yeah. meteorologist melissa magee is in for adam standing by were -- now where is this view? atlantic city the beach. >> yeah, sharrie and rick, sky6 live in hd looking at atlantic city down the shore a few folks on the boards walk argue round probably with a light jacket or a light sweater. it's crisp but relatively mild for this time of year and really mild across much of the delaware and lehigh valleys. so far in philadelphia coming in at 45. 44 in trenton. 42 in allentown. the lower 40's for reading and lancaster at the coast in cape may and at 40 atlantic city and at 45 degrees. the winds are southerly right now so that's pumping in the milder air here on this december day. 8 miles per hour sustained in philadelphia and 9 miles in allentown sustained wind up to 5 miles per hour. the winds are relatively light and calm but you have those southerly winds that will stay in place even as we go throughout the overnight hours. here's satellite6 along with action radar.

you can see a fair amount of cloud cover moving into the area after a sunny start to our friday. we'll widen out the picture and what we are tracking this energy coming out of the northern plains pressing into the great lakes. snow to the north of chicago, also pressing into minneapolis but where you have the milder air you're dealing with rain. this heads its way into our region as we get into the overnight hours and into the start our holiday weekend for christmas eve. association the call from accuweather tonight turning cloudy, rain arriving closer to dawn. we'll bottom out at 32 in allentown, 37 philadelphia and 36 in dover for the overnight low. timing out the precipitation future tracker six showing you 3 o'clock in the morning during the overnight hours in the lehigh valley up through the poconos there could be some mixed precipitation which is why the national weather service has issued that freezing rain advisory from 1:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. for our northwest suburbs. ice accumulation not expected here but some slippery travel but you notice fairly quickly during the overnight hours and early tomorrow morning by 8 o'clock, any frozen

precipitation changing over to rain. it's lane in philadelphia, areas to the south and east and we'll start to get some clearing late in the day tomorrow and some brighter skies on the way. so, the holiday weekend looking like this. christmas eve not bad. a wet start with a temperature coming in at 48 degrees but we're dry by tomorrow afternoon and for christmas day mostly sunny skies dry and nice with a temperature coming in at 48. here is the four day at 4:00. you can see for the day tomorrow early rain, then some brighter skies bite afternoon, a high of 48. sunny and nice on sunday for christmas day at 48. cloudy with a few showers on the way monday for kwanzaa, a temperature of 50 and 55 degrees on tuesday with milder air returning guys so a wet start to our holiday weekend, maybe get that shopping in one last time and then christmas day we're looking pretty good. >> looks actually nice. >> yeah, very nice. >> thank you melissa. still to come on "action news for your friday an adorable adoption that doubled as a huge surprise for one little girl and we'll slow you her reaction coming up.

>> and in big talkers it's a pretty amazing display that you'll want to see. what started out as a wife's crazy idea became her husband's holiday pride and joy. and an incredible ice rink for their kids. we'll show you the finished product coming up. >> ♪

pleading for a loving look, >> ♪ >> may the force be with a mom and daughter in delaware. four-year-old "star wars" fan zoey was adopted during a ceremony. darth vader storm troopers and chewbacca were in there courtroom in wilmington to congratulate zoey and her new mom deanna petty cone. the two formed such a strong bound to petty cone wanted to make it official. >> i wanted this day to be everything she ever wanted. it's only once in a lifetime that she'll be adopted and only time i'll be adopting her so i wanted it to be special.

>> the judge was in on the whole thing and she even got into character aspirin she is as leia. >> students from saint andrews catholic school performed a living nativity. the show featured a live baby jesus. each year an infant is picked to portray the son of god and in a fun twist this year one of the original babies is now an eighth grader in that very same production. the events included a chorus of traditional christmas hymns by the entire student body. members of prime life joined preschoolers from ann kids for intergenerational candlelighting avenue large holiday menorah. the lighting marks the eight day observance of the jewish festival of hanukkah which officially begins at sundown tomorrow. >> a nine-year-old therapy dog is spreading smiles to local

hospital patients. meet tugger. there he is. hi tugger. he's dressed up as snowman for the holidays. is he enjoying it? we're not sure. he's equipped with his own go pro camera to document his ventures at the hospital of the university of pennsylvania. tugger provides comfort to patients and stress relief for the staff. he also enjoys the occasional snack break and he's really good at sitting on chairs. so am i. tugger is considered to be one of the friendliest and furriest members of the penn medicine care team you. >> and tugger have a lot in common. >> yeah. >> much nor come in the next half hour of "action news" at 4:00. the sight excitementhe excitemer little ones. disney on ice is one day away. find out out about a local member from the team. >> a man decides to retaliate by stealing a luggage cart. details on this bizarre story out of florida and much more straight ahead.

we make known to the father now our intentions. >> "action news" continues with meteorologist adam joseph, alicia vitarelli, sharrie williams and brian taff. >> ♪ >> brian is off. it's 4:30 and "action news" continues wil with the arrest of two people wanted for victimizing a mother and young child. >> their loved ones lost their lives in the line of duty. today the families of fallen officers were treated to a special holiday meal. >> terrifying time for one boy skiing in utah. find out what happened on the lift that left him dangling in

the air. but first a search for the suspects in the holiday market attack in berlin is finally over. officials confirm that a man was killed in a gun battle with police early this morning in italy. abc's marci gonzalez joins us live with how the suspect was found and what investigators are now revealing. marcy. >> reporter: sharrie, while there was a tense search across europe for that suspect, police say that it was a casual routine encounter that led to his takedown. the manhunt ended overnight in a dramatic shootout outside of this train station in a suburb of milan. anis amri the suspect police say killed 12 people monday barreling this struck fluke a berlin christmas market was shot to death by police. the officers initially approached amri during a routine patrol asking him for his i.d. but instead officials explain amri pulled out a pistol and shot this officer in the shoulder. you can see here where the

bullet pierced his uniform. another officer returned fire killing a.m. regent officials explain they've now matched his fingerprints to those left inside the cab of this highjacked truck used in the attack. the italian interior minister saying. [speaking foreign language] >> reporter: the man killed is without a shadow of a doubt the terrorist law enforcement across europe has been desperately trying to track down. >> every plan in berlin, in germany is trying to find this man. >> reporter: investigators are now working to figure out when and how the 24-year-old tunisian left germany. officials trying retrace amri's steps believe he may have traveled through france arriving in milan by train just hours before he was killed. and now we want to know why he was there of all places and how the most wanted man in europe managed to travel through at least three countries undetected. live in new york marci gonzalez channel6 "action

news." >> there will be much more on the latest out of berlin with world news tonight with david muir at 6:30 after "action news" at 6:00 with jim gardner. >> now to the busy holiday travel today. tomorrow of course is christmas eve and the start of hanukkah and that has people filling up the airports and packing the roads throughout the day. those who were flying out of philadelphia international airport got there with lots of extra time before takeoff. one passenger said she shipped her gifts rather than bring them to save packing space. aaa says most people will go grandma's by vehicle this year. lots of last minute shoppers were in and out of the stores here at the tanger outlets in atlantic city. and if you're in the area, the shops are opened until 9 o'clock tonight. >> if you have to get outside the sweater cooperating. >> uh-huh. >> at least now, right. >> it's really nice outside. nice and mild. we've got a calm wind so you really can't have any complaints to look up my gift later.

>> hey, look at the time. >> we'll show you what's going on with the temperatures. it's not bad in philadelphia, it's 45. 51 in raleigh. to the south it's milder. memphis and atlanta coming in at 61 but you see that pocket of cold air across chicago and to the north. 35 degrees in chicago, just 26 in bismarck, north dakota so where you have the colder air we're tracking snow. storm tracker6 live double scan radar 3-d the bulk of the snow moving up across the northern plains but the great lakes getting a lot of wet weather from detroit down cincinnati and also into saint louis. this heads our way throughout the overnight hours and christmas eve on saturday but if you're doing some traveling you should be okay. we get the green light as far as the weather is concerned here at philadelphia, same thing to the north in boston. chicago not reporting any delays even though there is some snow reported across that region and also they're dry for atlanta all the way down to dallas with no weather related travel delays. coming up we'll take a closer

look at the system and let you know how much rain we are expecting tomorrow, let you know when it moves out and if the packages will arrive on time for christmas day. those details coming up with the accuweather forecast. >> they better get there on time. all right, thanks melissa. take the 6abc.com and the 6abc mobile app wherever you go this holiday weekend from storm tracker6 to the latest traffic information we got you covered and follow our meteorologists on facebook and twitter for weather updates as well. >> police in hatfield township montgomery county have captured a man and a woman who they say forced their way into a home yesterday morning. steven gibson and helen grant were taken into custody. police say gibson had a gun as the couple forced their way into the home on east broad street around 11:30. they got away with cash. a mother and her newborn child were home at the time but were not hurt. a man captured on surveillance video is wanted for breaking into a philadelphia police officer's vehicle.

this happened after midnight yesterday after the officer parked his vehicle on the 2300 block of coral street in kensington. the suspect broke the back window and took two bags. one contained the officer's riot helmet, rain gear and police issued polo shirt. the thief also took ammunition. if you know who this man is, you're asked to call police. >> well, the families of several fallen philadelphia police officers sat down together today for a special holiday meal. the christmas survivor's breakfast was hosted by the fraternal order of police at lodge five headquarters here in northeast philadelphia. it's a show of support to the families of officers killed or wounded in the line of duty. >> an overwhelming beautiful event and it's just such a comfort to know how much my whole family is thought of and how my husband is never

forgotten. >> each of the families who went to the breakfast today also took home gift baskets for the holidays. >> to the eagles now and the birds, the win last night prevented the giants from clinching a spot in the playoffs. three of eli manning's 63 passes were intercepted at the linc and in the end the eagles won 24 to 19. eagles quarterback carson wentz took a hit that forced him off the field but he did pass the concussion test and returned to the game. coach doug pederson says his team never gave up last night. >> a lot of pride in that locker room and, you know, our season is not over. you know, we still got games left. we're going to continue to compete. we want to win every game. >> wentz went out for a bit but running back ryan mathews suffered a significant injury last night. coach pederson says matthews needs surgery and will not play the rest of the season. >> a philadelphia woman is doing what she can to make the holidays a bit brighter for

others. this is myrtle strong's second year assume the role of santa right before the holidays. coming up at 5:00 tonight the effort from strong to take the pressure off of single parents and grandparents this season. also in health check coming up tonight it's a busy time of year for many but experts say it's also one of the busiest periods for emergency rooms. how you can prevent accident and a holiday trip to the hospital coming up tonight at 5:00. >> today disney invites you to follow your heart straight to the exciting performance of disney on ice. the tour is in philadelphia for a 25 show run at the wells fargo center through january 2nd. you can see all your favorite disney princesses and celebrate friendship with the toy story gang. one of the performers is a wilmington, delaware, native. >> wow. >> the show is jam packed with costumes, sets and props to make the magic come alive. disney of course is the parent company of 6abc. >> always a pretty show.

>> just looks beautiful. >> yeah. >> still ahead on "action news" at 4:00 he gave her the gift of life and more than three years later they finally got a chance to meet. hear the touching story about how their connection came to be through bone marrow. >> plus, christmas comes early for many philadelphia families who are staying in a shelter. we'll show you more of their smile. >> and meteorologist melissa magee is back with the full forecast from accuweather when "action news" at 4:00 continues tonight. >> ♪

we offer you, lord, the bread of life and the chalice of salvation, giving thanks that you have held us worthy >> dramatic 17 in utah when a young boy was left dangling from a ski lift after he got stuck while trying to get off. >> we are hurrying. >> it happened at sundance resort on wednesday. the boy's backpack got stuck in the chair leaving him dangling from the chair as it continued up the mountain. an employee brought the lift to a stop and rescue teams arrived on the scene with a ladder.

they were tubal climb up and get the backpack off of the boy. fortunately he was not injured. >> a traveler breached security at orlando international airport today by forcing his way onto an active runway. officials say the man was denied permission to board his united airlines plane because he was behaving erratically at the gate. he pushed past staff and ran onto tarmac where he stole a luggage cart and drove it across the runway. ground crews followed him and arrested him. >> rick, to big talkers today and this time of year as we take a moment to count our blessings a mother of two in texas is thankful to see another day. well, she is actually a cancer survivor and she finally got a chance to thank the man who helped give her the gift of life three years ago. and it was all a surprise. >> we've invite add very special guest. ladies and gentlemen, meet dave rutherford. [cheers and applause]

>> well, danielle stevens was speak tag breakfast in dallas telling her story of survival and how she received a life saving bone marrow transplant from a man she's only talked to through e-mail when david rutherford, her donor, walked right in. originally from new york he new in just to meet her face to face. >> i was kind of speechless. i really didn't know what to say. i gave him a huge hug and then just kind of looked at him and hugged him again. >> well, rutherford donated that bone marrow eight years ago when he was only a senior in high school at that time. back here closer to home the conshohocken police department started something brand new this holiday season. they call it shop with a cop. two elementary school students were picked for their good behavior and then off they went to the store each with $100 in that hand. officers matt bond and joe glasgow escorted third grader

bridget and second braider cole to the old navy. they picked out lots of cool clothing and these youngsters didn't just think of themselves on this shopping spree. they each picked up items for their siblings as well. the police department hopes to do this every year to show kids their success in school does not go unnoticed. so that's always nice. and finally this friday to minneapolis where it's always cold enough to have an outdoor ice skating rink. and the carolyn family built one when they moved into their home two years ago but it's recently been upgraded with some very cool features. take a look. dad sean is in the flooring business and used his skills to insert waterproof led lights into a layer of isoat night this rink is actually a glowing bright ball in all different colors and sean's two kids just love it. >> you get to skate on it. it has cool lights.

and it's awesome. >> i do it for all the kids because they have a blast skating on it and i have just as much fun as they do. >> if you're wondering how they resurface the rink and keep it smooth, the lawnmower also acts as a zamboni. talk about a handy dad, right? all right, rick, as you can imagine the neighbors are over quite often to skate. >> very cool. >> yes, it. >> thank you sharrie. let's get another check of the roads on a friday night. matt pelman with an update. hopefully we're not skating on thin ice as we try get home tonight. >> always a bit of a slippery slope trying to travel this close to the holiday especially around the malls. as we look live in king of prussia this is 202 and like we said before, it's not jammed solid but there is definitely a jam on the southbound side here as you head toward the schuylkill and sit through the traffic lights. plenty of congestion out here right by the mall this afternoon. we're also watching a crash in

abington township. it's along susquehanna road at valley road. a lane is blocked there. and of course you've got slow speeds by the other area malls as well. just 9 miles per hour close to the willow grove park mall. close to the springfield mall in delco along route one, they match, just 9 miles per hour there as well. on the schuylkill expressway, no shortage of slowing there either as people head out of town this afternoon. westbound side is especially heavy there from about past montgomery on tout to belmont. eastbound side slowing down by south street. let's check in with our good old water main break from to us. it's still out there along columbus boulevard. southbound lanes are closed once again this afternoon but what is not closed is the off ramp from 95 southbound to columbus. it's just that when you get to the end of this ramp you have to go north on columbus boulevard. you can't go south. that's why we're seeing this delay on the off-ramp from 95 southbound to columbus boulevard. some scattered regional rail delays this afternoon the cynwyd 59 not running. you take the paoli/thorndale

39 overbrook and hop on a shuttle bus. patco running on a special schedule because of the holidays. we'll check it again rick and sharrie in the 5 o'clock hour. >> matt we'll see you then. thank you. still to come on "action news" we get another check that of holiday weekend forecast. >> and stepping outside, sky6 hd giving us a live look at the skiers at spring mountain. meteorologist melissa magee with that full and exclusive accuweather forecast next. the local sled jump record, fly, gary, fly. ...his friend can download 13 versions of the perfect song... ...his sister can live stream it... ...while his mom downloads how to set a dislocated shoulder. get 150 meg internet, tv and phone for just $79.99 per month online for the first year.

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♪ from all my troubles i was set free ♪ >> ♪ >> santa claus may be squeezing through chimneys tomorrow night but today he was walking through the front doors of places where he was really needed like this family shelter here in west philadelphia. santa arrived with plenty of toys and gifts for the parents and youngsters who are staying here. the city catholic outreach program sponsored this visit at the lutheran settlement

house. christmas coming early. one little boy was hoping for a basketball and santa claus certainly brought him one. >> i see him. yeah. oh, there he is. another basketball. pretty cool. good day for those kids. >> yes. >> meteorologist melissa magee joining us to talk about the forecast t it is a busy weekend. >> it really is a busy weekend. we're tracking wet weather to get things started tomorrow but it does clear out nicely for the rest of the holiday we'll show you the picture outside. action cam was outside earlier today in atlantic city looking at the back bays. plenty of sunshine to get or friday started. sun giving way to a few more clouds and then we're tracking wet weather overnight. here's storm tracker6 live double scan radar. you can see it's dry, quiet for now. the picture will be changing as we go throughout the rest of tonight and into the overnight hours. 45 right now in philadelphia after a high today of 46 in the city, 41 in lancaster. chilly in the poconos, 35 and 40 at the coast in cape may. satellite6 along with action radar showing you a few more

clouds starting to drift into the region and you look off to the west across the midwest and the great lakes we're tracking a weather system that will be working its way eastward well after midnight and there could be some mixed precipitation at the onset well north and west of philadelphia for the rest of our region we will be tracking some wet weather. so over the next 12 hours turning cloudy. tracking that moisture arriving closer to dawn. we'll max out and bottom out at 32 in allentown for the overnight low and 35 degrees in philadelphia with that south to southwesterly wind. so future tracker6 showing you by 3 o'clock in the morning we've got some light mixed precipitation for allentown and up through the poconos which is why that freezing rain advisory has been posted. goes up at 1:00 a.m. lasting right through 9:00 a.m. saturday morning but you notice quickly as you get that surge of southwesterly wind that moves into the region, by 8 o'clock in the morning you could see it's already changing over to rain for most locations. this is all rain along that i-95 corridor, south jersey and also central delaware. by 1:30 tomorrow afternoon, the moisture is starting to

depart from a west-east direction and the clouds starting to break apart and brighter skies moving in as we get into the rest of saturday afternoon. so, what to expect overnight into christmas eve? that precip arriving well after midnight. brief mixing is likely in the lehigh valley and up through the poconos mainly rain for most locations. and we are dry by early afternoon tomorrow. as far as how much rain we are expecting, we could find anywhere from about a quarter of an inch to about a half of an inch of precipitation. locally higher amounts across south jersey where that rain lingers a little longer before it moves off the coast as we get into saturday afternoon. by christmas eve night, certainly not bad. partly cloudy, not too chilly, 6:00 p.m. that temperature coming in at 42. for midnight services coming in at 36 degrees as we get into our christmas eve. here's the exclusive accuweather 7-day forecast. saturday rain with late day clearing, a high temperature at 48. sunny and nice for christmas day on sunday and at 48 for the high. monday cloudy with a few showers around and at 50. a morning shower around on

tuesday. otherwise it's a milder day and at 55. cooler as we get into wednesday, 42. the upper 40's next thursday and seasonable on friday, guys, with a high temperature coming in at 44 so a little bit of wet weather to get things started but we dry out just in time for hanukkah which begins at sundown tomorrow and also christmas day on sunday. >> okay. >> melissa thank you. >> thanks melissa. >> breaking news coming out of loss orange. actress carry fisher has suffered a heart attack. fish are became famous portraying princess leia in "star wars." fisher was on a plane returning from london when she e went into cardiac arrest. the los angeles fire department responded and performed cpr before transporting her to the hospital. at this time there's no word on her condition but again, actress carrie fisher has suffered a heart attack. be sure to stay with "action news" and 6abc.com for updates on this breaking story. gainwho has joined us today,

on television or here in our -- in our chapel. >> it is freebie friday and we start off with starbucks spreading some holiday cheer. the coffee chain is giving out free drinks for 10 days. you can get a tall size espresso drink at various locations. it's only one -- only for one hour each day from 1:00 until 2:00 p.m. you can go starbucks clear.com to find out which select 100 locations will offer the free drinks. the promotion runs until january 2nd. >> and speaking of free coffee when the eagles win, you win at dunkin' donuts. dd perks members can get a free medium hot or iced coffee all day today following the birds win over the giants last night. you can enroll for dd perks on the duncan mobile app. >> how about a little history lesson for free? join hundreds of reenactors and

thousands of attendees on the banks of the delaware river for the annual reenactment of george washington's infamous christmas day crossing. it was considered a turning point in the american revolution. the reenactment is happening at the washington crossing historic park on river road in washington crossing this sunday which is christmas december 25th from noon to 3:00. >> and amazon and other big name retailers covering the cost of shipping your donations to goodwill. instead of recycling the boxes you can fill them with items you no longer need and ship them to goodwill for free. the web site give back box.com is making this possible. print out a free shipping label. for a link to this and our other freebies head to 6abc.com. >> that's going to it this friday. for rick williams, brian taff, alicia vitarelli melissa magee and adam joseph i'm sharrie williams. join me along with brian adam and ducis rodgers tonight and every night for a full hour of "action news" at 10:00 on

phl17. >> coming up next on "action news" at 5:00 chester police searching for a shooter after a veteran ups driver was shot on the job. >> plus, at least a dozen burglaries across three counties. the man police are looking for tonight who they say struck several times in just one month. those stories and more coming up next at 5:00. >> ♪

with a mad dash for the sea. it's a tough journey. predators are on watch for a quick bite to eat. >> ♪ >> meteorologist cecily tynan, rick williams and monica malpass. >> ♪ >> the countdown to christmas is on. we are just 30 hours away from stan's big day. and if you're trying buy that last minute gift or gearing up for a holiday trip, well, are you not alone. >> looking live now outside through sky6 hd across the city skyline, if you are hanging around the delaware valley for the holiday it will be a wet start to hanukkah but by christmas we'll have sunny skies and temperatures near 50 degrees. >> friday night monica is off sharrie williams joins us. long time no see. and the big story on "action news" is the rush to shop or ship out ahead of the holiday weekend. >> we have team coverage tonight tracking traffic on

roads and near the malls but first to the forecast. meteorologist cecily tynan is at the "action news" big board with the call from accuweather. hi cecily. >> hi sharrie and rick. storm tracker6 live double scan shows i'm tracking a system arriving early tomorrow morning for christmas eve. remember last week i was tracking one. however, last week it was runing into some very cold air. it's very mild out there right now. philadelphia 43. reading 40. wilmington 42. cape may 40. yesterday temperatures were in the 50's. today made it into the mid 40's. so the ground is pretty warm so it shouldn't cause any major problems as far as traveling. and tonight the evening planner showing the clouds will be increasing overnight so the clouds really blanketing the earth, kind of trapping in the heat so temperatures not cooling off all that quickly. by 7 o'clock, 39 degrees. by 8 o'clock, 38. we drop down to 36 degrees by 10 o'clock and by 11 o'clock, 35 degrees